New York’s long-awaited congestion-pricing program went into effect in early January, overcoming numerous legal challenges and an aborted planned launch last June. The program debuted to mixed reactions, though data from the MTA suggests it is meeting its goals of reducing Manhattan traffic, and its popularity has ticked up. But the toll scheme is now in grave danger after President Trump’s administration officially pulled federal approval from it, prompting a swift legal challenge from the MTA — which was expecting this. Here’s what we know about congestion pricing’s legal future.
What did the Trump administration do?
On Wednesday, Transportation secretary Sean Duffy announced that the federal government had pulled its approval for the tolling program, calling congestion pricing a “slap in the face” to New Yorkers. In a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, Duffy said the tolling zone left residents without a “free highway alternative” to travel on and questioned the revenues from congestion pricing going toward the transit system and not the highways. “I do not believe that this is a fair deal,” he said.
This move from the White House was hardly a surprise; it came after Trump echoed his previous opposition to congestion pricing in an interview with the New York Post published earlier this month, calling the program “destructive to New York.”
“Traffic is way down because people can’t come into Manhattan and it’s only going to get worse,” he told the Post. “People don’t know about it until they get the bill.”
After Duffy’s announcement went public, Trump quickly boasted about his actions on social media, writing, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
How has New York responded?
The MTA, clearly anticipating the administration’s revocation, quickly filed a lawsuit, arguing that Trump’s move to unilaterally end congestion pricing is unlawful. “It’s mystifying that after four years and 4,000 pages of federally supervised environmental review — and barely three months after giving final approval to the Congestion Relief Program — USDOT would seek to totally reverse course,” MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.
Hochul, who previously delayed the rollout of congestion pricing, was emphatic that the state and the MTA would fight the Trump administration’s move to end the program in court. “I’m here to say, New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years and we sure as hell are not going to start now,” she said at a press conference at Grand Central Terminal.
The governor also made it clear that there are no plans to halt congestion pricing despite the federal government’s challenge. “The cameras are staying on,” she said.
Representative Jerry Nadler denounced the Trump administration’s attempt to kill congestion pricing in a statement, calling its arguments “utterly baseless and, frankly, laughable.”
Can Trump actually kill it?
Congestion pricing was approved under the Federal Highway Administration’s Value Pricing Pilot Program, which allows transportation agencies to implement tolling programs with the goal of decreasing congestion. The federal government is arguing that the city’s congestion-pricing program should not have qualified for approval under the VPPP because it doesn’t feature a toll-free option from drivers wanting to travel in that zone. Duffy’s letter also argues that the tolling program is primarily intended to raise revenue for the MTA rather than to decrease congestion, which he claims puts it at odds with the goals of the federal program.
But legal experts appear skeptical that the Trump administration has the authority to roll back the program after it was approved by the previous administration. Robert Glicksman, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, told the New York Times, “If the facts on the ground have not changed, then you have an extra high burden of justifying a reversal of position. They can’t just say: ‘Sorry. We changed our mind.’ They have to explain why.”
CBS News spoke to Bennett Gershman, a Pace University law professor, who pointed out that congestion pricing has survived numerous legal challenges. “A judge has already upheld the program after a challenge, and I do not see any authority that President Trump has to end the program,” he told the outlet.
The issue will now go before a federal judge and the New York Times reports that Judge Lewis Liman, who previously ruled in the program’s favor in a previous matter, has been assigned to the case.
Congress has already waded into the fight about congestion pricing. In January, Republican representative Nicole Malliotakis introduced a bill that would prohibit congestion pricing by amending a 1991 federal law that allows for the program. The State Island congresswoman was also joined by New Jersey representatives Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat, and Jeff Van Drew, a Republican, in sponsoring legislation aimed at hindering congestion pricing by requiring the Transportation Department to analyze the financial impact of congestion pricing and pausing the program while it does so.
How is congestion pricing working so far?
Since the program was implemented, the MTA has continued to trumpet its successes. The agency issued a report following the first week of congestion pricing, stating that Manhattan had seen a significant decrease in traffic since the toll went into effect. MTA data issued last week reported that a million fewer cars had entered the Manhattan tolling zone, per NBC New York. While the program is intended to generate revenue for the MTA, the agency is still seeking $33 billion from the state to close a budget gap and fund its capital plan.
It also appears that public opinion on congestion pricing might be shifting. A recent Morning Consult poll found that 59 percent of respondents believed that Trump should allow the program to continue. Of those who said they frequently travel into the tolling area, 66 percent of people said they approved of congestion pricing.
